Attraction
by GlamorousIndieRockAndRoll
Summary: It was her smile that did it. Katniss blamed everything on that smile. Katniss x Foxface.


**This is the first chapter in a series of one-shots I'm writing about Katniss and Foxface through the Games and rebellion; obviously it's AU. I ship it loads, and I know foxniss doesn't have a lot written about them so hopefully this will change that :) **

**Enjoy! x**

* * *

Attraction Pt 1: Entice

* * *

_I've been watching your world from afar,_

_I've been trying to be where you are and I've been_

_secretly falling apart unseen._

_To me your strange and your beautiful_

_You'd be so perfect with me but you just can't see_

_You turn every head but you don't see me. _

**- Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung**

* * *

It was her smile that did it.

Katniss blamed everything on that smile.

It was a quirk, a curl of slim lips slightly wet with saliva and coated the colour of flushed cheeks in winter snow. Twisted upwards in amusement, dancing and flickering at the edges as her amber eyes sparkled. She noticed her eyes later, because the smile robbed her of thought for a while and put her mind in a spin decoding it. It was a sly smile, inviting you to guess what exactly she was laughing at – you or the joke you just said? The person next to you or the person at the other side of the room? Maybe a memory, a silly fantasy only for her to ever be privy to.

Whatever the reason, it made Katniss Everdeen stare fascinated. The smile grew when their eyes met, and the girls skinny neck arched slightly, shoulders rolling backwards. Katniss opened her mouth to say something, anything to explain the staring- but then the girl was gone, slipping between two tributes to another station like water trickling through fingers. Katniss shook her head slightly and went back to camouflage. Her partner Peeta hadn't noticed a thing, wrapped up in painting himself as a rock and talking about how he decorated the cakes at the bakery back in 12.

She wondered absently what District 5 looked like, and then remembered this was the Hunger Games and there were 23 other tributes to face, and she couldn't get attached to Peeta or the girl with the fox face. Because two of them at least, probably all three would be dead in two weeks time.

* * *

On the second day of training she noticed her hair. She'd spotted the smile straight away, flitting in and out between strands of silky dark red hair that hung in front of her face. A bright copper, poker-straight. Sunset orange, signalling the beginning of the end. A harbinger of night and everything dark that came along with it. The girl from five reached up with scrawny arms to tie her hair back and instantly was transformed. Her smile became more focused, those bright molten gold eyes freezing with determination, and she stalked over to the plant station with purpose.

She turned and followed Peeta to the knife throwing station and tried to scope out the other competition. The sneering Careers, smirking as Peeta missed the target completely, bursting into laughter when the girl from 3 failed to even lift an axe.

Katniss frowned, those axes were _heavy _especially to people who hadn't handled them before. The girl wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last to be intimidated by the Careers in the three days training. When they'd focused on Katniss her first impulse had been to glower coldly, refuse to stare away from their mocking eyes. Peeta had whispered in her ear Haymitch's instructions to lie low and instead she'd stared down at her pitiful attempt at a fire. When the careers had singled out the girl from 5 she hadn't even noticed, or at least Katniss didn't think so. That smile was on her face again though, and she was confidently rolling around berries on her palm and just in earshot was conversing at length with the trainer about the various poisons she could encounter. Her voice was husky, like she inhaled the smoke the upper class of District 12 did sometimes from cigars. Fancy things, with thick plumes of smoke roiling into the sky above. When she heard her voice she thought of that, and it made her chest warm. _District 12. Home. _

* * *

It was inevitable that she'd be transfixed by her eyes. They were her finest feature, even Haymitch had concluded that much from the recap of the reapings.

"Fire in her eyes," He'd slurred, pointing one finger at the screen. "You better watch your back with that one."

She knew what he meant, when she gazed from the corner of her eye at the large thick-lashed yellow orbs. They drew you in, a dark honey amber with lighter golden flecks. With her sharp cheekbones and pointed chin so akin to a fox, she half-wondered if they'd glow in the night. They certainly glowed in the day, and Katniss wanted with an urge that hurt to be so near she could see the tiny swirls flicker with anger or roll hazily with affection. She'd never liked boys back home, never understood why everyone thought she had to be kissing Gale when they were in the woods. She couldn't look at him like that; couldn't look at Peeta like that. Gale was her friend, and Peeta was her saviour, and at the end of it all neither were what she wanted. She didn't want a husband and certainly didn't want kids.

It's not like she didn't notice how good-looking Gale was, it was simply a hard solid fact. It's not like she didn't notice how the other girls looked at him either, and sometimes for a minute or two at night when sleep was almost upon her she could relax, rewind and imagine him taking her like all the other girls to the slag heap, his body hot on hers. It felt weird though, because Gale was practically part of the family.

She thought fleetingly Madge would understand what she felt, sweet lonely Madge who was her only friend and had lips that looked like they felt like her finest silks. But Madge had a Father who was Mayor, and Madge always had food on the table, and Madge moved in social circles much higher than her own. Madge was beautiful, a flawless porcelain doll compared to Katniss who was always scruffy and covered with bruises, scratches and stings. Madge wasn't what she needed either, as nice and friendly as she was.

She'd given up on any partner then, she didn't need anyone. She had her dear brother Gale who was more than enough company, and Madge was a nice friend to talk to in school. Once or twice she'd notice for a second or two a boy's eyes on hers, but she'd easily dismiss it. She could recognise a pretty face when she saw one, but she didn't want to know the person it belonged to. She didn't have need of them, didn't want them.

But she couldn't help wanting the girl from 5.

She didn't know why, different reasons she kept rationalising. She craved to talk to someone in the same situation other than Peeta, who was nice - _too _nice. He'd saved her life and now they were pitted to fight against each other to death and the whole thing was just awkward. She looked like a nice person, she looked _fun. _She looked smart, and Katniss could use someone like that on her side. But that just opened a whole other can of worms, because they'd have to kill each other than, and she didn't think she could look at that face and send an arrow into her heart. She didn't plan to kill her, but then again she didn't expect to be obsessed with her either.

She wondered late at night in her room, unable to sleep in her unfamiliar Capitol bed if the girl felt the same way. It made her nerves tingle uncomfortably, for Katniss could easily imagine kissing the girl, twining her fingers through her hair, her skin so soft... but what if the girl didn't like girls? What if she didn't like her? Katniss could just imagine for the first time in her sixteen years confessing her feelings for someone and they throwing it back in her face. Her cheeks flushed just at the thought and her mind raced with jumbled thoughts. She shouldn't be liking someone, this was the Hunger Games they'd be dead in a matter of days, and she was a girl not a boy and what would her Mother say, and she was a complete stranger she didn't know. Maybe she only liked this girl because she'd spent too much time around Prim, was missing her sister. Maybe she only liked this girl because she hung around Gale too much, Gale who was a brother and who she could never imagine being with. _Lies, _her mind whispered spitefully. _You like her, you don't care what your Mother thinks because you're likely never coming home and facing her reaction. This had nothing to do with Prim you fool! You thought Gale was nice-looking but this girl is prettier and you know it. You know it. Liar. _

Katniss groaned and buried her face in her soft feather pillow, envisioning that smile directed at her, her soft voice whispering secrets in her ear.

She was driving her mad.

* * *

She was swinging about on the climbing frame, body twining like she was purposefully trying to divert Katniss. Katniss clenched her jaw and made a concentrated effort to listen to Peeta talking about the girl from 11 following them. Katniss turned and spotted the youngester slip into the shadows. The same age as Prim. Katniss's heart throbbed and she turned rapidly away lest she start to think of home again.

"Rue, I think her name is called." Peeta told her and Katniss nodded, face twisted with pity. Rue had no chance in this arena, with the Careers who were messing around with the weapons scaring even the instructors. A scuffle broke out between the brute from 2 and the boy from 5, and Katniss watched those beautiful golden eyes roll, the smile twisting and turning as she twisted and turned on the apparatus. She was nimble and fast, knowing instinctively where to roll her hip to avoid the netting. Mesmerising, and when Katniss finally dragged her eyes away she was surprised nobody else was looking. She risked nudging Peeta.

"What do you think of her?" She nodded covertly to the redhead and Peeta studied her for a while, big blue eyes speculative.

"I'm not sure." He said finally. "She looks... tricky. Like she doesn't care about anything... or anyone. She's looking out for herself."

"Aren't we all?" Katniss shrugged and Peeta turned and smiled at her sadly.

"Yes, I suppose."

When they lined up for dinner, Katniss found herself staring at a flame. The girl was directly in front of hur, pursing those infamous lips and licking them with the tip of her tongue as she examined the food.

"How many carbohydrates does this have?" She picked at the food with a fork held delicately, and Katniss oberved how skinny her wrist was, just like the other tributes not from District 1, 2 or 4. They all were walking skeletons, walking corpses.

"Hurry up."

The Careers had gone before the others of course, but there was still a queue, and the girl frowned and took a small portion of everything before gliding off to a table by herself. Katniss had half a mind to follow her, but dutifully sat next to Peeta who told her about each districts bread.

"- and this is from 5." He held up a flat dark brown piece, and Katniss wrinkled her nose at the unappealing food. Peeta nodded in agreement. "Five is very polluted, so they don't bake a lot. And when they do, they don't have a lot of grain. Hence the... flatness."

"It looks burnt." She wondered how anyone could eat that, wondered how the girl managed to choke it down. "I didn't know it was so polluted in five. How did you know?" She stared at her partner confused and Peeta shrugged endearingly.

"History class. Remember last year we had to do that project...? I did mine on bread and how it was different in the districts, how it had changed over the years since the rebellion-"

She vaguely recalled the assignment. She'd written some spiel she couldn't remember on District 13, hastily finishing it the night before it was due in after a hunting session overran.

Katniss's gaze strayed over the others. The Careers taking over one table, trying to one-up each other constantly and dominate the conversation. Their loud voices echoed around the huge hall, the other tables only housing one or two tributes usually from the same District. The girl from 5 was noticebly sat at the back, away from the others and as far away from possible to the Careers and her District partner who had gotten on their bad side earlier on. She was munching on a carrot stick thoughtfully, and their eyes met for a second.

The girl smiled, and Katniss hastily turned away.

She forced a conversation with Peeta, laughing terribly at his attempts at jokes. Still, it made the other tributes look at them curiously. It made _her _look at them shrewdly, canting her head ever so slightly as if to figure a puzzle out. Katniss swallowed nervously, ultra-aware of those eyes on her, and when dinner was over practically bolted away. She worked hard to contain herself, hoping desperately her cheeks weren't rosy pink and it was just the room temperature. It was just a girl, a girl she didn't even know. She was being stupid. Her, Katniss Everdeen falling to pieces over a stupid crush or whatever it was.

She jerked her chin in the air defiantly and walked past the girl without a second glance, and she swore she heard a small snicker behind her.

* * *

She was on that blasted climbing frame again, sprawled in an elegant matter near the bottom. Half hidden by the instructor and spying, of that Katniss was sure. Like a fox in her den, nose twitching for enemies and ears aquiver for any useful information. She could see anything she liked there, could probably hear secret conversations between the Careers.

She was jealous. Jealous of a good plan, annoyed she didn't think of that herself. And it just added to the feelings of attraction, lust, guilt, confusement. So much so that when Katniss snapped she strode straight towards her.

The girl watched her approach curiously, limbs twining around the frame and legs swinging, swinging, swinging.

"Hello." She smirked broadly.

"Hello." Katniss cleared her throat, coming to a stop a few feet from the frame. "I'm Katniss."

"The girl on fire." The girl acknowledged with a respectful nod, examining her through wary half-closed eyes.

"Yes." Katniss said stiffly. "I want to know why you kept looking at me earlier."

"I figured I'd return the pleasure." The girl murmured, shoulders sloping upwards. "After all it's only fair." She smiled, a tiny soft smile full of true friendliness and mischief.

Katniss didn't know what to say, mouth half hanging open like an idiot. "You were saying something under your breath earlier; I don't know what-"

"Secrets. Plans. Notes. Why do you care?" She arched an eyebrow quizzically, and Katniss felt a surge of lust wash over her when she was sat like that, utterly relaxed but every limb just an inch over-poised, as if any moment now she was ready to move if something happened. She looked, Katniss thought, as if she had a master plan for everything, an escape route, a plan B.

"You shouldn't even be talking to the competition." She continued. "It's not like we both don't know we'll be dead in a few days. And if one of us does so happen to win, well one of us will be dead. There's not much point in making friends with a corpse is there?"

"Who said we'd be friends?" Katniss blurted and the girl laughed. A laugh that lasted only a short second before she restrained herself. Katniss could almost see the thought dropping back to the forefront of her mind. She was a tribute, this was the Hunger Games and she couldn't laugh, couldn't talk, couldn't interact in any way, shape or form.

"Mmm. For all I know you're a soon to be mass murderer."

"And you won't be?" Katniss asked, defences flying up at the accusation that will come true.

"Of course not." The girl smiled, a lazy proud smile that churned Katniss's stomach. "That's what everybody expects. You should never do what anyone expects."

And then she fell, dropping like a stone through to the floor beneath. There was a soft thud of impact as Katniss watched in disbelief, and less than a minute later the girl was emerging from the climbing frame at the opposite side with not a hair out of place.

She strolled confidently away with that smile playing on her lips, leaving Katniss frozen with disbelief and a dropped jaw. She was in awe of how she could do that, be so- so sly.

She thought about it later on in bed, mind going over and over the minute details. The raspy throb of the crescendo of her laugh, how her eyelashes brushed her cheeks as she smiled. How her eyebrows were so expressionable, pulling together in annoyance and distrust, wriggling slightly with deceit. So quick and clever and deceiving. So utterly enticing.

A fox luring in its prey, and Katniss simply couldn't for the life of her give up with the alluring chase.


End file.
